John Dias, MD of Silver Bullet Marketing, reports on an expedition to Annapurna which raised almost £8,000 for Doddie Weir's Foundation.
The first two hours of the ascent to the Thorong La Pass were hard – it was 4.00am when we and other trekkers who had overnighted at Thorong Phedi at 4450m set off using headtorches and began the slow shuffle up to High Camp at 4850m. It was only 400m difference in height but you needed to concentrate to ensure you kept on the narrow path that zigzagged up the steep face – from there the track leveled out a bit into the snow fields and dawn revealed an almost alien landscape which dwarfed those who had made it this far.
Like most adventures, it had started in a pub – Gordon Stanger-Leathes, (MD of Callerton Kitchens) and Eric Wilkins, (Director of the Great Run Company) had completed an epic Pyrenean trek whilst Eric had also been up Mt Kilimanjaro – both now wanted to do what many regard as the ‘ultimate’ trek, the Annapurna Circuit. The 140 miles takes travellers up the Manang Valley in North Nepal, over the Thorong La Pass at a lungbusting 5,416m height and down the Mustang Valley to Pokhara.
Gordon’s daughter, Ali, a senior manager with World Challenge, through her contacts in Nepal was now able to make this happen and the team, of which I was fortunate enough to be a part, was invited last Summer. Andy Zair, Ali’s boyfriend and an international rugby player for Hungary, would bring the average age down whilst Gordon, Eric, Jeremy Hargrove, Will Ruffman, Mel Horry and myself would return it back up to 65 or so – what could possibly go wrong?
Jeremy came up with the name of the Annapurna Elders, as it does what it says on the can as it were, and, as we were all fans of Doddie Weir and full of admiration for his fund-raising for Motor Neurone Disease, it seemed a natural fit for the trek to then try to support the charity. We set a high target at £5,000 but, due to the incredible generosity of people, we’re at £7,422 at the time of writing and hoping to reach £8,000.00 – if you can donate, there’s a Just Giving site to make it as easy as possible at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ annapurnaelders.
So what was it like? Incredible people in incredible landscapes. We were lucky with the weather and everyone made it over the Pass thanks to our great guides. We were lucky in having such a group that gelled so successfully in what were some fairly difficult circumstances. We were lucky in having the support of our families and colleagues that allowed us to take the time off work and we were lucky in having such generous supporters who have raised such a fantastic sum.
The highlight was the Pass – it’s hard to explain how extraordinary this landscape is – and the icing on the cake was Andy asking Ali to marry him there. Would I do it again – not a hope but if you ever get the chance, take it!
To support the "My Name's Doddie Foundation" and raise funds for research into the prevention of Motor Neurone Disease, please go to the Annapurna Elders' JustGiving page, www.justgiving.com/fundraising/annapurnaelders
